Avalanche & Weather Forecasts for Sled Skiing
The rack is packed, the sled is fueled, and the forecast is the last thing standing between you and a good day. Here is every official avalanche center across the West, plus the mountain weather and snowpack tools worth having bookmarked. Check the forecast for where you are actually going — not the one next door.
Montana
Home turf. We are in Bozeman, so the Gallatin forecast is the one on our screens most mornings.
Bozeman, Big Sky, Cooke City, the Bridgers, and the southern Madison and Gallatin ranges.
Whitefish Range, Swan Range, Flathead Range and the country around Glacier National Park.
Missoula, the Bitterroot, the Rattlesnake and the southern Swan.
Wyoming
Tetons, Togwotee Pass, the Snake River Range, Gros Ventre and the Salt River Range.
Idaho
Sawtooths, Smoky and Boulder mountains, Sun Valley and the Soldier Mountains.
McCall and the West Central Mountains.
Selkirks, Cabinets, and the mountains around Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint.
Utah
Wasatch, Uintas, Logan, the Manti-Skyline, Abajos and Moab. Separate forecast for each zone.
Colorado
Statewide forecasts across ten zones, plus highway and backcountry observations.
Local detail for the Crested Butte and Gunnison zone.
Washington & Oregon
Washington Cascades, Olympics and Mount Hood. Excellent mountain weather data alongside the forecast.
Bend, Mount Bachelor and the central Oregon Cascades.
The Wallowas and the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon.
Mountain weather & snowpack
Avalanche forecasts tell you about the snowpack. These tell you what the weather is about to do to it.
Point forecasts anywhere. Click the map at your trailhead rather than the nearest town — the valley forecast is not the mountain forecast.
Real snow depth and water equivalent from automated stations. The honest answer to “is there enough snow up there yet?”
Dedicated mountain weather for western Wyoming and the Tetons.
Mountain weather built for the Utah ranges.
Southeast Idaho mountain weather.
Snow forecasting with daily written analysis by region. Popular with people who plan trips around storms.
- Carry a beacon, shovel and probe — and practise with them until a search is muscle memory, not a puzzle.
- Take a course. Avalanche.org lists providers nationwide, and motorised-specific courses exist for exactly this kind of riding.
- Read the whole forecast, not just the colour. The problem type, the aspect and the elevation band are where the useful information lives.
- Never ride alone, and never high-mark above a partner.
Forecast links are provided as a convenience and point to official avalanche centers and government weather sources. PowTechMFG does not produce forecasts, and none of this replaces formal avalanche education, current local information and your own judgement in the field. Spot a broken or missing link? Email info@powtechmfg.com and we will fix it.